Liverpool vs. Brentford: Arne Slot sent "obvious" sack message as explosive Mo Salah statement defended

Before Liverpool take on Brentford in their final game of the Premier League season, Sports Mole's experts issue their verdicts on the upcoming match, and Mohamed Salah's recent explosive statement.

Ben Knapton, Site Coordinator: 'Arne Slot has lost the dressing room'

It's been a poor season.

We can't talk about Liverpool without talking about the explosive Mo Salah statement that came out, saying he wanted Liverpool to go back to the heavy metal style of football associated with his time there.

That felt like, maybe not a direct attack on Slot, but certainly a dig aimed towards him and the style of play we've seen Liverpool regress to.

Looking at the pressed sequences and the shots on target compared to Klopp's triumphant season and even Slot's current season, the difference is stark.

You can see just how much Liverpool have changed even since the title-winning season. There's been all the debate about whether Salah was selfish. Most Liverpool fans are defending him because he is arguably the greatest player to ever wear the shirt.

Arne Slot won a Premier League title, but it does seem like he might have lost the dressing room now. So many players liked Salah's post. Andy Robertson also came out and said the standards are far from where Liverpool should be.

These are players who were part of the Jurgen Klopp dynasty and that heavy metal style of football for a good seven or eight seasons. It's probably been as big a shock to the system for them as it has been for the fans.

I don't think Salah was selfish. He's going at the end of the season and it looks like he'll be fit for his home farewell. Whether he can end it with a goal remains to be seen.

He's looking out for the club and the fans because he loves the club and he will always love the fans. Even though Liverpool are sticking by Slot and FSG want to give him time, I really don't see how he can survive going into next season.

Even if Liverpool get Champions League, that would be the one saving grace, but the fans are really against him now and a lot of the players don't seem to have been buying into his methods this season. It's a bit of a mess right now.

For Brentford for relegation at the start of the season after losing Mbeumo and losing Wissa. We thought they'd be near the trap door, but Keith Andrews, for me, is my manager of the season.

How he's maintained the standards there with everything that's gone on has just been incredible to witness. Seventh is the best they can get, but a point could even be enough for them.

If Chelsea lose and Brighton lose heavily, Brentford would have to make up a minus six goal difference. They could do it, but they have won just one of their last 10 games.

They did show spirit to fight back twice against Crystal Palace, but their away form has dropped off quite a bit. Between December 20th and February 28th they won seven of their eight away games, but they've now won none of their last five.

From a Liverpool perspective, you're hoping you can get Champions League at the expense of Brentford's European dream, which has been a wonderful dream for them to have. Getting top half this season would be a phenomenal achievement for them.

Matt Law, Football Editor: Arne Slot set for 'most obvious' sacking?

Almost everyone I spoke to, including myself, thought Liverpool would win the league this season, based on their summer activity, the team they had, and how good they were last season.

If you're going to have a bad season, just make sure you finish in the Champions League spots.

The thing that will potentially save Slot is that they'd have been 12th or 13th, and they could easily have been there this season with how poor they've been, but they're quite fortunate that Chelsea, Newcastle, and teams like that have underperformed to the extent that Liverpool have almost got away with having 12 Premier League defeats.

That's remarkable, really, for a team of that calibre after the summer they had. The Slot situation is a very interesting one. I've seen this before with Erik ten Hag and Ruben Amorim at Manchester United.

They held onto their job in that summer but you could see it a mile off. I can see Slot lasting until October or November, and if he doesn't start well, he'll get sacked.

I've seen this story happen before at Manchester United, and it's going to be the most obvious sacking in the first half of next season if he does end up staying.

The Salah stuff reminds me a bit of Ronaldo when he left Manchester United the second time. A lot of Manchester United fans sided with Ronaldo in that situation because of the icon he is.

These are not normal players, your Ronaldos, your Messis, your Salahs. They're not normal footballers, they're the elite, top 20 ever, top 10 ever.

His behaviour is not normal, but these are not normal individuals, they're extraordinary characters with extraordinary talent, and maybe we should expect the unexpected from them at times.